"Don't let young people run away", the sugar-free market started a hunting competition.
"There is another strong player on the 0 Sugar Bubble Track." In mid-March, Zhu Danpeng recorded industry changes in the circle of friends.
As a food industry analyst, it is obviously not new for players to get together and enter the market.
This "strong player" is Danone, a beverage giant with a big single product "pulse".
Since the beginning of this year, the sparkling water industry is still "lively".
The new brand Dongfang Honghu has won tens of millions of US dollars in Series A financing. "Water Moutai" Nongfu Spring has added a new product to the non-traditional carbonic acid track. The Internet celebrity enterprise Yuanqi Forest has continued to expand its production capacity. The sixth self-built factory will be located in Taicang, Jiangsu... New The Beijing News Shell Finance reporter learned that almost all the well-known beverage brands currently have a sparkling water business, and even Haidilao has launched sparkling water, which is speculated by the market to be a "vigorous forest in the hot pot industry".
In fact, whether it is the price increase of erythritol, the large amount of "spending money" by investment institutions, or the active layout or crossover of many companies, it all confirms one thing on the side. Sparkling water has become a popular beverage market in recent years. One of the star tracks.
At present, the domestic sparkling water industry is still in its infancy. During the staking process, with the continuous emergence of innovative products in the industry, the rapid introduction of new products is also driving the continuous expansion of the market.
"If more companies enter the sparkling water market, it may erode the share of some traditional carbonated beverages, or squeeze the market share of other categories such as juice." Industry insiders said.
Compete for Gen Z taste buds
The young generation of Z has become the absolute main force of sparkling water.
"Why do you like to drink sparkling water?" Shell Finance reporter randomly interviewed several sparkling water lovers, each with their own reasons.
"My holy water for weight loss. Every time I really want to eat sweets or drink milk tea soft drinks, I drink a breath of water and I feel like I feel satisfied. It's a compensatory behavior."
"Because it was my idol who endorsed it."
"The bottle is beautiful. There are too many flavors, and you can try it frequently. I just like to pursue freshness."
The so-called "non-traditional carbonated beverages" refer to beverages represented by sparkling water and new carbonated beverages in addition to Coke, Sprite, Fanta, etc.
In recent years, new beverages based on sparkling water have led to the widespread rise of more "non-traditional carbonated beverages".
Among them, Yuanqi Forest started a wave of 0 sugar and 0 calories in the flavored sparkling water industry.
A reporter from Shell Finance learned from Yuanqi Forest that in the early stage of the brand's establishment, it first established a research and development center, with 0 sugar, 0 fat and 0 calories as a stepping stone, to attract consumers who pursue health.
The track has already opened, and capital is moving, but with a cautious attitude, they have chosen to enter the game first by investing in shares.
And Yuanqi Forest has become a "sweet pastry" in the eyes of investors, with angel rounds, A rounds, B rounds, and multiple rounds of battle investment... The latest report shows that the valuation of Yuanqi Forest, which has not been established for 6 years, has exceeded 10 billion US dollars.
In January this year, Yuanqi Forest released the "2021 Yuanqi Forest Sparkling Water Consumption Insight Report", showing that "half of the sparkling water is almost drunk by the post-95s generation."
Grab the stomach of young people and become a powerful tool for attracting gold, and old-fashioned beverage companies will naturally enter the new track.
In 2019, Wahaha launched sparkling water, "Bubble Hi Party", which is mainly aimed at students aged 16 to 25.
In 2020, KellyOne's "Angry Bobo" soda sparkling water will be launched; in 2021, Wang Yibo will be the spokesperson for the full series of "Angry Bobo".
In addition to the label of "0 sugar, 0 fat and 0 calories", Nongfu Spring Sparkling Water also features "0 potassium sorbate".
It is understood that in 2011, Nongfu Spring introduced and built the earliest log6 aseptic cold filling production line in China, which is more difficult to control microorganisms than carbonated beverages. .
Up to now, Nongfu Spring has dozens of aseptic production lines.
"In recent years, with the gradual increase in the consumption of bubble products, new flavors based on various fruit flavors continue to emerge, bringing fresh taste to consumers." Dongpeng Beverage mentioned in its 2021 annual report, "CBNData consumption Big data shows that sparkling water ranks first in the post-90s beverage preference list with a high degree of preference. Various innovative sparkling water categories have been launched successively, such as sparkling juice, sparkling milk, sparkling tea, etc. The rich taste is superimposed and is popular among young consumers Loved it, and the market sales grew rapidly.”
In March of this year, Danone, who holds a pulsating big single product, announced that it had entered the field of sparkling water and launched a new product "Lingqi", claiming "0 sugar, 0 potassium sorbate, and three vitamins superimposed."
Danone's entry into the game, although there are many doubts that it is too late, think that it may be difficult to occupy the minds of consumers.
However, more interpretations say that the gathering of players also proves that sparkling water has not yet reached the era of stock competition, and there is still a lot of room for growth, and the entry of Danone may indicate that the competition in the sparkling water industry will become more and more fierce.
During the staking process, R&D racing and capacity expansion
Hot money is pouring in, and more and more people are entering the game.
According to the company’s data, there are 2,040 sparkling water-related companies in my country, and the annual number of new registrations in recent years has remained at hundreds: 303 in 2017, 315 in 2018, and 501 in 2019. , 516 new stores in 2020, and 201 new stores in 2021.
Wu Daiqi, CEO of Shenzhen Siqisheng Company, told Shell Finance that although the growth of carbonated beverages has slowed down in the past few years, Yuanqi Forest has subdivided sparkling water from carbonated beverages, focusing on "sugar-free" and "healthy". When Yuanqi Forest challenged traditional carbonated drinks, it attracted consumers with the concept of "0 sugar and 0 fat" and a small clear style, and established its brand positioning.
This sub-category is undoubtedly more liked by young people and has grown rapidly, which has promoted the development of the carbonated beverage industry.
Therefore, other brands will follow suit.
"If more companies enter the sparkling water market, adding new concepts and new marketing training, it may make the cake bigger in a sense. Sparkling water may erode some of the share of traditional carbonated beverages, or squeeze other categories, such as juice. market share." Wu Daiqi said.
It is not only the old giants who want to stand on the air, but new brands such as Nai Xue and Heytea are also trying to get a piece of the pie.
"At present, domestic sparkling water consumption is still in its infancy, but innovative products in the industry are emerging one after another, and the rapid introduction of new products drives the continuous expansion of the market." The relevant person in charge of Nai Xue told reporters.
The more entrants, the more intense the competition, and it is also forcing the entire industry to upgrade rapidly.
Shell Finance reporter learned that although the vitality forest, which has quickly established itself in the sparkling water market, has a certain first-mover advantage, with the escalation of competition, the company is currently facing two major challenges, one is production capacity, and the other is quality. One upgrade.
At the end of February, Shell Finance reporter learned from Yuanqi Forest that the company's sixth self-built factory will be located in Taicang, Jiangsu, focusing on the Yangtze River Delta region.
Yuanqi Forest told reporters: "Jiangsu Taicang factory covers an area of 120 acres. It is expected to plan 6 production lines. After the production is put into operation, the annual production capacity is expected to reach 1 billion bottles."
The relevant person in charge of Yuanqi Forest said that for the research and development threshold of the beverage industry, it varies according to the development level and stage of the industry and enterprise.
The crux of this question is whether to truly put the user first.
For the research and development of vitality forest, the real barrier lies in digging deep into user needs.
In Nai Xue's view, the main reason for her own products to be loved by consumers is "successful innovation in taste".
"When we are deeply cultivating the sparkling water business, the most important thing and spend the most time and energy is the polishing of the product, we will worry about the poor consumer experience, such as whether the bubbles are dense enough, whether the bottle body will be deformed after transportation, how to balance the bubbles and the Fruity taste. In this regard, the R&D team conducted a gradient study on the carbon dioxide gas capacity of sparkling water (from 3.0 to 4.0 times) after many experiments, and conducted many taste tests among post-90s users, and finally screened out the palatability. The best formula for air content." The relevant person in charge of Nai Xue told reporters.
The rise of domestic flavored sparkling water has become the representative of a new type of beverage with healthy, weak flavor and heavy touch.
CICC analysts believe that sparkling water is positioned across packaged water and carbonated beverages, and the sales volume in 2025 is expected to exceed 30 billion yuan.
In addition, the 2021 Nielsen Brand and Consumer U&A Research Report shows that China's carbonated beverage sales will reach 58 billion yuan in 2021, with a growth rate of 11%.
Among them, non-traditional carbonated products accounted for 18%, still lower than 31% in Western Europe, 50% in the United States, and 42% in Japan.
In other words, China's non-traditional carbonated beverages still have a lot of room for growth.
Zhu Danpeng believes that when the competition on the 0-sugar bubble track enters the deep water area, who can gain insight into the needs of young people and who is most likely to break through in the healthy beverage market in the future.
The protagonists of the beverage market are always young people, and new tastes are the characteristics of every young generation.
It is not only delicious and useful, but also good-looking and fun, which is undoubtedly a big challenge to the strength of the brand.
Under "Making Wealth Tide": Internet celebrities develop and save the B side, is 0 sugar and 0 calories a healthy brand?
A small bottle of sparkling water is not only popular among a few brands, but also not only a track that is popular, and the industry "creates a tide of prosperity", benefiting the entire industry chain.
As early as when Yuanqi Forest became popular, A-share "Yuanqi Forest Concept Stocks" took a roller coaster ride, including Baolingbao, Fengyuan Pharmaceutical, O.R.G., Zhuhai Zhongfu, etc.
"The general trend of sugar reduction, Yuanqi Forest is holding red erythritol." Tianfeng Securities analyst said.
Bowlingbao is a leader in the functional sugar industry. According to the company's observations, among the terminal products that use erythritol, the zero-sugar and low-sugar beverages under the cutting-edge beverage brands such as Yuanqi Forest are the first to be vigorously promoted and received by consumers who pay attention to health. The market cultivation and consumer education of 0-sugar and low-sugar beverages have achieved initial results, bringing a huge demonstration effect to the same industry.
Traditional beverage brands such as Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Nongfu Spring, Wahaha, Danone, Dali, Dongpeng Special Drinks, etc. are also rapidly deploying the zero-sugar and low-sugar beverage market, for chain brands such as HEYTEA, Nai Xue and others played a leading role in the use of erythritol, which led to the outbreak of the erythritol market in China.
On March 16, Bowlingbao said that consumers’ awareness of sugar control has increased, and the consumption of sucrose has slowed down in the past five years, with an average annual compound growth rate of less than 1%, and the average compound growth rate of low-sugar or sugar-free products is more than 20%.
The growth rate of global sucrose consumption has slowed down, and the replacement of sucrose by sweeteners is generally in a stage of rapid deepening.
Shell Finance reporters noticed that as early as February, Sanyuan Bio officially landed on the GEM of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. The closing price on the day of listing was 128.01 yuan per share, with a total market value of more than 17 billion yuan.
Sanyuan Bio is an early manufacturer of erythritol in China, and its customers include Nongfu Spring, Yuanqi Forest, Coca-Cola, Heytea, Jinmailang, etc.
From 2018 to 2020 and from January to June 2021, the average unit price of erythritol of Sanyuan Bio was 14946.66 yuan / ton, 14989.64 yuan / ton, 14897.44 yuan / ton, 18659.39 yuan / ton.
From 2018 to 2020, the gross profit margin of Sanyuan Bio-erythritol was 36.86%, 43.63%, and 42.16%.
The B-side of the sparkling water industry's continuous release of dividends is the public's question about whether the claims of zero-sugar, sugar-free or sugar-replacement beverages are really healthier.
Wang Ji, a member of the China Nutrition Association and a nutritionist, told the Shell Finance reporter that sugar-free drinks on the market are not necessarily 100% sugar-free.
According to the GB28050-2011 national food safety standard "General Rules for Nutrition Labeling of Prepackaged Foods", the sugar content per 100g or 100ml in solid or liquid food is not more than 0.5g, and it can be labeled as sugar-free.
In other words, if a 500ml bottle of beverage contains less than 2.5 grams of sugar, the merchant can advertise it as a sugar-free beverage.
"So, you can't drink too much sugar-free beverages. If you drink too much, the sugar intake will still exceed the standard." As for whether sugar-free beverages are harmful to health, Wang Ji said that at present, there are quite a few sugar-free beverages that use substitutes. sugar.
According to research data, excessive intake of sugar substitutes can have negative effects on the human body.
For example, reduced sensitivity to sweetness leads to higher intake of sugar and gastrointestinal reactions in some people.
"Of course, drinking sugar substitutes in moderation is not harmful to the human body, but can help some people gradually quit sugar." Wang Ji said.
According to Chen Wei, chief physician of the Clinical Nutrition Department of Peking Union Medical College Hospital, a foreign study found through long-term follow-up that more people who also drink carbonated beverages drink sugar-free fat, and more people have diabetes.
"It's a psychology, that is, if I think I'm drinking sugar-free, I'll drink a few more bottles, then, drink a lot of these sugar-free drinks, even if your sugar intake is higher than that of sugar-sweetened beverages. It is less, but some of the ingredients in it that stimulate appetite will still cause you to want to eat other things. That is to say, if you just replace the drink without fundamentally changing your lifestyle, the risk of obesity is high.” Chen Wei analysis.
Chen Wei said: "We are now judging that a drink with 0 calories and 0 sugar is healthier and safer than a drink with calories and sugar, but it is still unhealthy compared to our natural water."
In addition, when sparkling water players melee, there is still a word game in technical terms.
In July last year, the Shanghai Consumer Protection Committee named "angry bobo" and pointed out that the "2.5 times bubble" in its main slogan was actually "using a professional term to fool consumers."
The so-called 2.5 times bubbles are actually a professional term. According to the national standard of "Carbonated Beverages (Soda)", this is only the volume multiple of the capacity of carbon dioxide gas.
The Shanghai Consumer Protection Committee said: "As for the 2.5 times bubbles, experts say, for example, soda will inject carbon dioxide into it when it is produced and leave the factory, because the gas volume will also be lost during storage and sealing. But on the last day of the shelf life , A qualified soda should also contain 1.5 times the gas capacity. Experts also said that the gas content of cola is also nearly 4 times. Therefore, 2.5 times the gas content is not unusual."
Beijing News Shell Finance reporter Yan Xia